NU guard Demps mulling left shoulder surgery

Northwestern’s Tre Demps figures he needs shoulder surgery, but he told the Tribune on Friday night that he might seek to delay it until after his freshman season.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what we’re going to do,” he said by telephone.

Demps, a combo guard penciled in for significant minutes, injured the left shoulder Wednesday during a workout with NBA players at a gym outside Los Angeles. Demps said he was hand-checking Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City’s first-round pick, when he “felt a pop. I knew something was serious.”

The diagnosis was ligament damage, but Demps is scheduled to get a second opinion from an orthopedist Monday in New Orleans. His father, Dell, is general manager of the New Orleans Hornets.

“We might have an option of rehabbing and then having surgery at the end of the year,” he said.

Demps broke the news on his Facebook page, writing that MRI results meant he “probably” would miss six months.

He also wrote: “I'm not tripping have faith in god he has the perfect plan. I don't need a pity party. More than just a basketball player.”

Demps, who made first-team all-Texas, plans to major in journalism at Northwestern.

“I’m real religious guy,” he said, sounding upbeat. “I’ve talked to a lot of people and have a couple of friends who had to sit out their freshmen year. They’re giving me positive reinforcement that everything will be OK.”